Task Force talks vaccinations at mango event
Group also stresses importance of getting vaccinations
After manning a vendor booth at the recent MangoMania event, Pine Island COVID-19 Task Force member Dr. Daniel Hanley was disappointed — the overall vaccine promotion didn’t seem to be well received.
The Task Force presence, though, was not a waste of its time.
“As my job is to be impartial and neutral, my concern is that we may have turned off the very people we’re trying to reach,” Hanley said. “Listening to people’s concerns, withholding judgment, and letting people make their own decisions is probably the optimal way to go.”
In addition, Hanley said, obtaining FDA approval, as well as the number of rising COVID cases on the island, may impact people’s decision regarding vaccinations.
Task Force member Sue Dahod attributed Hanley’s concern to a lack of engagement with people at the event on the vaccine, saying she saw very little negative feedback from event-goers on the subject. One person asked if COVID vaccinations would be made available at the event. While the vaccines were not available at MangoMania, Dahod said they would be available at Hanley’s Bokeelia clinic.
“I don’t think we should get discouraged about trying to convince people to get vaccinated,” said Dr. Jim Koopman, another Task Force member. “I think we should be as smart and as thorough as we can.”
Koopman went on to say that it would be helpful to get the “Did you know?” sheet, originated by the Task Force, into the hands of as many people as possible. This informational list of COVID vaccination facts was handed out at the MangoMania event in gift bags.
“My general sense is that it’s controversial and anger-inducing to have a conversation with a loved one and people just avoid it at this point,” said Dahod.
Koopman maintains making educational material widely available is the best way to avoid COVID-related deaths, as he said, overall people don’t realize COVID-related deaths are coming to the unvaccinated.
Group member Helen Fox suggested having the informational sheet available in Spanish.
“It’s interesting to know that 96 percent of all physicians in the United States are vaccinated,” said Fox, adding that more than 180 million Americans alone have been vaccinated safely.
Koopman pointed out that 99 percent of COVID patients, hospitalized at the time of the July 19 meeting, had not received a vaccination for the virus.
“Ninety-nine percent of the current COVID deaths are occurring in unvaccinated people,” said Koopman.
According to Dahod, fears that the vaccine may contain the live virus should be put to rest, as none of the virus is placed into the vaccines, only mRNA (messenger ribonucleic acid), which then teaches the immune system how to fight the virus. She pointed out that mRNA technology has been around for two decades, aiding in the treatment of some forms of cancer.
According to CDC.GOV:
“None of the authorized COVID-19 vaccines in the United States contain the live virus that causes COVID-19. This means that a COVID-19 vaccine cannot make you sick with COVID-19. COVID-19 vaccines teach our immune systems how to recognize and fight the virus that causes COVID-19. Sometimes this process can cause symptoms, such as fever. These symptoms are normal and are signs that the body is building protection against the virus that causes COVID-19. Learn more about how COVID-19 vaccines work.”
“I think it’s important to understand these two things,” Koopman said. “These vaccines, especially the mRNA vaccines, are some of the most benign vaccines. They’ve been designed to reduce the total insults to the body, while stimulating more immune response. These are not vaccines that we need to be afraid of — they’re vaccines that many millions of people have experienced without incident.”
Koopman went on to explain that mRNA does not enter the nucleus of the cell where DNA is located and that while this is also true of the virus, for the most part, the virus, he said, has many more tools associated with it, giving it a much better chance of having a long-term affect on the cell than the vaccine.
“If you’re concerned with that issue,” Koopman said, “You should be more concerned with the infection than you are with the vaccine. People have gotten the idea that antibodies can help the vaccine get into cells. It’s true that sometimes antibodies can help the vaccine get into cells. It’s called Antibody Dependent Enhancement (ADE).”
While this has been shown to occur, he said it’s far less likely to occur in someone who’s been vaccinated than it is in someone who has been infected and is now getting re-infected.
Fox said one of the most significant reasons mutations are becoming a current and vital concern is that they can develop within a patient who shows no symptoms.
“You might have no idea that you’re carrying around the COVID virus and not only are you carrying it and can pass it to others, but that virus can mutate and create a new strain enabling the virus to reconfigure itself to avoid the vaccine,” Fox said.
At this point those vaccinated are left less protected than they would have otherwise been, she said, emphasizing the importance of stopping the spread of mutations with vaccination.
“If you are unvaccinated you are putting yourself at risk as well as others,” said Fox. “This vaccine technology has been around for a long time and it’s known to be extremely effective.”
Koopman explained that some of the variants that are spread locally are attuned to the immunity built by the previous viruses and vaccines. To avoid developing another variant, he said, efforts are needed to make sure the number of vaccinated people runs high. This mutation only happens, he added, in the people who remain unvaccinated.
“There are some people you’re just never going to convince,” said Koopman. “But there are a lot of people who could be convinced and if we can convince our local citizens to convince others, we’re going to reduce our chances that the Delta Variant will spread so widely in our community that it will adapt especially to our community.”